Murray State University

Generation OnlyFans: The Internalization of Objectification in Young Adults

Grade Level at Time of Presentation

Senior

Major

Psychology

Minor

Legal Studies

Institution

Murray State University

KY House District #

1

KY Senate District #

1

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The term raunch culture refers to recent changes in Western culture that promotes overtly sexual representations of women, wherein women are objectified, objectify one another, and are encouraged to objectify themselves. With the growth of the internet and social media, raunch culture has expanded rapidly. This hypersexualized culture provides people opportunities to engage in positive social comparison, but perhaps more insidiously, negative social comparison. Although some women perceive aspects of raunch culture as empowering, it is possible that this construct could relate to the phenomenology of depression in women. This study examined the various relationships between raunch culture, depression, social comparison, screen time, and social media use in undergraduate students. It was expected that depression and raunch culture would be positively correlated, such that people with greater depression severity would be more accepting of raunch culture. It was also expected that the relationship between social media and depression would be mediated by social comparison, such that those who use social media more will engage in more social comparison, and subsequently experience greater depression symptoms. Results revealed a significant, positive correlation between depression and raunch culture (r = 0.24, p < 0.05), evidencing support for the first hypothesis. Regarding the second hypothesis, results indicated that social comparison did significantly mediate the relationship between social media use and depressive symptoms, supporting the hypothesis. These results may help us better understand the phenomenology of raunch culture, its potential negative effects on mood, and its relationship to social media and social comparison. Future research may benefit from examining raunch culture in the context of other important psychosocial variables.

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Generation OnlyFans: The Internalization of Objectification in Young Adults

The term raunch culture refers to recent changes in Western culture that promotes overtly sexual representations of women, wherein women are objectified, objectify one another, and are encouraged to objectify themselves. With the growth of the internet and social media, raunch culture has expanded rapidly. This hypersexualized culture provides people opportunities to engage in positive social comparison, but perhaps more insidiously, negative social comparison. Although some women perceive aspects of raunch culture as empowering, it is possible that this construct could relate to the phenomenology of depression in women. This study examined the various relationships between raunch culture, depression, social comparison, screen time, and social media use in undergraduate students. It was expected that depression and raunch culture would be positively correlated, such that people with greater depression severity would be more accepting of raunch culture. It was also expected that the relationship between social media and depression would be mediated by social comparison, such that those who use social media more will engage in more social comparison, and subsequently experience greater depression symptoms. Results revealed a significant, positive correlation between depression and raunch culture (r = 0.24, p < 0.05), evidencing support for the first hypothesis. Regarding the second hypothesis, results indicated that social comparison did significantly mediate the relationship between social media use and depressive symptoms, supporting the hypothesis. These results may help us better understand the phenomenology of raunch culture, its potential negative effects on mood, and its relationship to social media and social comparison. Future research may benefit from examining raunch culture in the context of other important psychosocial variables.